


for you, with you

by HiddenEye



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Accidental Voyeurism, Denial of Feelings, Family Drama, Fluff, Krolia POV, M/M, Mentions of A/B/O, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, POV Outsider, Post-Season/Series 05, Shoulder touching in Galra is too spicy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-07
Updated: 2018-03-07
Packaged: 2019-03-28 07:07:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13898889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HiddenEye/pseuds/HiddenEye
Summary: When she followed his gaze, she found herself looking properly at the Black Paladin.And almost flinched.Kolivan subtly cleared his throat behind her as a warning, but she was too busy grilling onto the man who had perked up at the sound of her son’s voice. The solemnity in his gaze from when he was in deep conversation with his allies cleared the moment his eyes land on Keith, a smile that looked far too pleased then graced his lips.





	for you, with you

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve been trying to get this done since last week god. But, here it is! Some Krolia and Keef uwu
> 
> Enjoy!

Her son’s friends were what she expected them to be.

Though vary in width and skin, they couldn’t escape how humans were born to be smaller than the Galra on the account of their heights. This verdict had been kept quietly at the back of her mind while Krolia forced herself into matters of the widely spreaded homicide across the intergalactical canvas of existence — and now that she stood among their species yet again, the tentative delicacy she hid from long ago began to prickle under her skin once more.

She let her thumb rub against the holt of her blaster, causing Keith to eye the action from where he stood beside her with his arms hanging by his sides; rigidly she might add, as if her son was preventing himself from playing with the knife on his waist while his friends’ blatant ogling were trained solely on them.

Undeterred, she stared back at him pointedly.

“Your mum,” one of them repeated breathlessly, and when Krolia dragged her eyes to the owner, she met the wide brown eyes of a large boy with a mop of equally brown hair. “Your mum’s a _Galra_.”

The pure awe in the earthling’s voice made the centre of her chest twinge, and she had to remind herself Kolivan was standing somewhere behind them, monitoring the whole scene. She wet her dry lips; she was a full-grown Galra among human children. A supervisor in social interaction was hardly, if ever, unnecessary.

“I thought we know that.” There was a gruff in Keith’s tone that made her glance at him again, where he had abandoned all etiquette of preserving one’s way of emotional privacy by tightly crossing his arms on top of his chest, his brows furrowed lightly.

It was easy to slip into that air of situation when he knew how to act around them. Krolia didn’t, since she was limited to study humans from afar during her stay on Earth for the sake of her safety, and only interacted with Keith’s father because of it.

“Humans are stupid.” She couldn’t even be bothered to come up with any type of response then, not when the man was sprawled ungracefully against the run down sofa with a can of drink in hand; hair rucked, eyes drilled on the tin as he slowly turned it around as if to find his words on the printed surface. “We got our heads so far up our asses that we grew up to believe we’re the only ones who exists in this universe, and then we become batshit crazy if anything not from Earth drops down from the sky. Well,” he looked up then, dark blue eyes twinkling. “Aren’t we so fuckin’ wrong, huh?”

She came to realise what he said then. And she came to learn that humans were frightened with the things they didn’t know, where their reasoning would be obliterating them on first sight as to avoid confusion and more havoc.

She took sanctuary in his shack when he offered it to her with spread arms, and with great care, he began treating what wounds she suffered after dragging herself out of her deformed ship. Bedridden, she didn’t have any choice but to let him do most of the work while she merely glared at him from where she laid down.

He ignored her, he met her attempts of escaping when she was supposed to rest, and he evenly reminded her the possibility of her existing out alone in that barren of a desert of an unknown planet would be highly unlikely if she left then. Trust him, he said. He knew this land more than she did.

She snarled, but he waved his hand towards the evening sun shining through the opened window to emphasise his point.

It took awhile for her heart to open to the man who took her in after crashing head first into the hills of the planet.

The knot grew in her throat, and she blinked the memories away when the Red Paladin, a boy with lankier structure and blue eyes, started talking from where he leaned slightly against his friend. “Yeah but, it was one thing through words. When you’re finally seeing it with your own two eyes, it’s kinda surreal that you’re actually, y’know, half-alien.”

Keith frowned. “I thought we got over that too.”

“Look, I’m just saying—“

“Where’s Shiro?”

Krolia was surprised to hear the press in his tone, where it was pitched with a certain impatience while his eyes flitted across the room with the same intensity that could cut someone in half. The air surrounding him turned taut, and Krolia noticed how his finger tapped against his bicep.

The three earthlings in front of them either didn’t notice the restlessness in his behaviour or they were used to it, because none of them batted an eye when the smallest one replied with complete dismissal, “With Allura and Lotor, they should be here any second now with you here.”

Krolia met her Leader’s eyes at the mention of the new Emperor’s name, but then, the doors slid open under the presence of new arrival.

It was almost odd to see how far they achieved, where the first time in her years of serving the Blade of Marmora, she was able to witness the ties between Galra and Altean slowly strengthening through the hard preservation Princess Allura had relentlessly been working on. Krolia knew how it was her words that brought the Paladins of Voltron together, with the coalition spreading far under her determination for peace. Seeing her walk between Lotor and the Black Paladin then, heads bowed slightly as their words were uttered in low breaths, made Krolia realised the princess was powerful than any other individual in the universe.

The former prince of the Galra Empire was too intelligent to not know that himself, and from how his body language looked far too at ease with the company he once fought with told Krolia he had already held the princess in high regard.

Krolia didn’t turn to Kolivan when he stood near her shoulder, but she tilted her head to the side to acknowledge his presence.

“Shiro.”

The utter relief in Keith’s voice managed to break through despite his best in concealing it. It looked as if most of the pressure seeped out of his posture when his shoulders slumped down, where he was relieved of a heavy weight he had been wanting to get rid of. When she followed his gaze, she found herself looking properly at the Black Paladin.

And almost flinched.

Kolivan subtly cleared his throat behind her as a warning, but she was too busy grilling onto the man who had perked up at the sound of her son’s voice. The solemnity in his gaze from when he was in deep conversation with his allies cleared the moment his eyes land on Keith, a smile that looked far too pleased then graced his lips.

She had to remind herself that all living species she ever knew and met had some resemblance with one another despite their inability to be related, because genetics worked in a way of complication where she usually left all the details for Ulaz to keep.

Fate, as it would seem, decided time was relative and would want to taunt her for her mistakes at the current moment. Krolia knew twenty years worth of amends were to be made sooner or later, and she promised herself to look into it once she wasn’t too busy watching over her shoulder for any surprising gifts.

Keith’s posture had changed alarmingly fast that she was only left staring in bewilderment at how publicly they showed their interaction. And when the Black Paladin joined their circle along with Princess Allura and Lotor, Krolia was able to see how soft her son’s gaze was when Shiro stood beside him.

Shiro responded with an equally enamoured tilt of his lips, and he clasped Keith’s shoulder with a hand that made Krolia tightened the posture of her back.

She could already hear her human’s loud guffaws if he ever had the chance to see what was currently being broadcasted. Because he knew what she would be thinking, and then he would laugh in his booming voice again that once caused a much younger Keith to fall on his mattress in surprise.

Exerting dominance in front of your peers was not a common thing among the Galra. She remembered raving the tactlessness of it to Keith’s father when she was mentoring the younger Blades back at the base before she left, and how they had much to learn about _respect_ and _secrecy_. That was when the laughter started.

She didn’t expect for it to smack her back in the face by pulling her son into it.

Lotor seemed to think the same thing when he stared at them with an eyebrow arched high up his forehead.

She was almost afraid to know what Kolivan’s reaction was to all of this, seeing that he knew them longer than she did. But, his silence for the moment was enough to inform her that he knew too.

Shiro and her human had the daunting similarities in both structure and frame, with kind eyes and a chiseled jaw that looked handsome on the person when she was first acquainted with him all those years ago. Shiro may have the same height, if not a bit taller than her human ever would be, but the dimples were there when Keith muttered a witty greeting to the man that caused him to grin.

What made the tell-tale warmth crept up her nape was how smitten Keith look when Shiro began speaking to him in low tones —the hand still firm on his shoulder while her son just let it be, as if their conversations had always been so loud and showing— because that was the same look she saw everyday in the mirror when she was with his father. But, she made sure it was within the confinements of their room, not out in public where everyone could see.

Their friends didn’t seem to notice this as well, which told her just how long they had been doing this, and no one told them the significance of their actions.

She might have to, or they would make a further fool of themselves.

And, it would be better if she didn’t see herself and her lover in the faces of her son and his own human.

“If I’m not being rude,” Allura began, pulling Krolia out of the heat that seemed to fester under her skin and directed her attention to the princess, who was smiling with an arm offered towards her way. “But, I assume you’re Krolia? The spy on Warlord Ranveig’s post?”

Krolia reached out and held her arm into a Galran handshake. “Yes. Ever since Ranveig had his eye trained on Kral Zera after Zarkon’s death, we were able to obtain what other intel and resources that were applicable to what we’re doing.” She faced Lotor then, dipping her head shallowly. “Congratulations, Prince Lotor.”

He answered just as kind. “Thank you, but I wouldn’t have done it without Princess Allura and Voltron.”

Krolia withdrew her hand then, letting it drop to her side. “Of course.”

“You never actually told us what weapon he was keeping,” the Green Paladin said, curiosity burning in her look. “Was it some sort of laser beam?”

“It was more of an experiment he kept to use if his post was infiltrated with enemies.” At the corner of her eyes, Krolia noticed how Shiro dropped his hand, and she allowed herself to relax. “Feral and dangerous, the creature could kill you without a thought.”

“And we left it loose on Trugg.” The realisation in Keith’s voice was grim, hardly effected. She nodded slowly while the rest of his friends blanched at the thought.

“It was the only way we could ever escape without her following our trail.”

The conversation continued with what Lotor and Allura found in Oriande, the situation they went through, and all while Krolia kept an eye on Keith and Shiro.

Standing next to each other calmed her son more ways than she could expect. It was fascinating, in a certain extent, since this was the first time she saw him completely at eased after meeting him merely hours ago. Perhaps it was far too soon to judge his character since they had only briefly catch up with each back at the base, where she wrapped him in her arms once again and held him tightly as he had to her, but self-reflection could be a good start; from how _she_ had depended on her human to know the sweet taste of life, perhaps Keith found someone who gave him joy as well.

It was a soothing thought after what he told her about his years back on Earth, of how his pain could still be seen clearly in his eyes despite his damnest to be to brush it off.

What hurt her more was how her human left their son alone.

“I’m interested in the beast Warlord Ranveig had been keeping behind our backs this whole time,” Lotor said in musing, before he met her eye. “Even I didn’t know of this. I was hoping if you could give a detailed report about it?”

Krolia took out the device she clipped near her hip. “I can show you.”

Once the holograms were spread out in front of her, she began explaining the mechanism of the creature; its durability, how long this experiment had been going on, its strengths and weaknesses, and the usage of quintessence the druids used when building this monster from scratch.

“They took numerous cells, tissues, and blood from bodies and managed to merge them together in order to create a whole species of their own,” she continued, swiping to the next page in order to show the various races being represented in front of them. “Mostly the ones that were hurt too badly to protest. They would be alive enough for them to extract the tissues fresh, and then the Druids would dispose of them once they’re done.”

“Where do they get these people?” Shiro asked, gaze flickering from one face of those victims to another.

Krolia paused, glancing at him.

Keith’s sharp senses caught her hesitation and snapped his eyes to where she was, his spine straightening themselves when faint apprehension seared in his eyes.

“It was given to us under the Champion’s disposal,” she said. “We take the ones he couldn’t kill.”

Heavy silence weighed crushingly on top of them, and Krolia noticed how Shiro had his jaw locked as he stared emptily at one of the photos in front of him, his fingers buried deep into the meat of his palm.

Keith gently laid a hand onto his arm, and when Shiro teared his look away to shoot him a twitch of a smile, Krolia swiped onto the next hologram.

She continued with what she knew, right until it was time she, Kolivan, and Keith had to leave for the base again.

From afar, she watched his friends say their goodbyes to Keith, laughing and slapping his arm, all while having Shiro by his side. Allura and Lotor left for their respective rooms just moments ago, their heads still close as they continued to discuss their work.

“They’re inseparable.” Krolia commented almost idly, and Kolivan only stood beside her. “After that free show, has Keith taken him yet?”

He gave her a side look. “I’m in no position to meddle with your son’s affairs, Krolia.”

“An affair.” She echoed when Keith turned to Shiro with a wide grin then, who rolled his eyes when their friends teased the Black Paladin. “An affair wouldn’t look like that.”

“Keith didn’t learn our culture back on Earth.” The backhand remark made her eye him sharply. “He wouldn’t know how certain things would appear here.”

Despite all the years they worked together, all the demise and victories they went through, Kolivan was still her leader, and snarking at him in front of other people would appear rather undefined. Instead, she faced the youth again, wincing when Keith held onto Shiro’s bicep when he started talking to him. “This is recruitment all over again.”

Kolivan grunted, and Keith then pulled Shiro into his arms, holding him close with his nose buried deep into his neck. “He has your courage.”

“And his father’s impulse.” Krolia sighed, resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose.

Her son was scenting the man in front of them all. Their friends were ignorant enough to not know the meaning of Keith’s indirect claim, and were insensitive to the heavy smell of possession he gave out unknowingly. The stench was strong enough that Krolia was able to catch a whiff of it from where she stood, and thinned her lips to not inhale it.

Education on the Galra. That was what her son needed.

Once they were on their ship, Krolia walked towards the helm to meet Keith, who was focusing on piloting their course towards the base. She stood near his seat, letting her arm rest on top of it as she peered towards the space stretched in front of them. “You never told me you chose him as your mate.”

Keith froze, before he pushed into the last button his fingers had been hovering on out of surprise. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“The Black Paladin,” she said. When she looked on top of his head, his shoulders were taut again. “Your affections for him were clear when you two hugged. Every Galra within ten feet wouldn’t dare come near him now.”

There was a pause, and Keith licked his dry lips. “We just hugged, it’s what we do. And he’s not my mate, or whatever you call it.”

“You were scenting him.” She leaned her hip against the side of the chair. “Taking him for claim.”

“He isn’t mine to claim.” He didn’t look at her, eyes forward, hands tight around the steering. “We’re friends, only he’s done me favours back on Earth that I wouldn’t know how to repay, and I’m forever grateful that he even considers me as his friend.”

She watched him then, not knowing what to reply without appearing offensive. “You adore him greatly.”

“Who doesn’t?” Keith gave out a sharp, brutal laugh, and Krolia felt the sting of it to her bones. “He was there when I was alone, and he was there when people thought I’m not worth the effort. I’m doing whatever I can to compensate that with what he’s dealing now.”

It was an indirect hit on her part as well, for abandoning him far too soon. And he was making sure she was punished by bringing in his lover and the differences they both possessed.

She deserved that, especially when she was nosing her way into a relationship with her son.

Tapping her fingers against the chair, she resisted the urge to comb them through his locks of hair, tampering down the dull pain spreading against her chest at the memory of how she used to do the exact same thing when he was just a small child. She remembered his merry delight and his twinkling eyes, the way his chubby cheeks sprang up from his constant laughter.

Right now, like the rest of them, Keith had his sights on making sure the universe wouldn’t collapse within itself when there were still residents living in it.

“I’m glad you found someone who cares for you,” she admitted quietly. “I’m only sorry I wasn’t there with you and your father.”

She wanted to apologise for a lot of things, but at the moment, their unexpected reunion opened an old wound that had been festering in themselves for years. It would take time for her to have his full trust, and she was willing to wait.

“Yeah, well,” he looked at her then, and she was able to see her own hurt in his eyes. “I’m glad I finally found you.”

She allowed a smile to grow, and couldn’t help herself when she ran a palm across his cheek that caused him to close his eyes. Encouraged, she leaned forward and pressed her forehead onto his, breathing deeply through her nose.

“And I you.”

Keith sucked in a shuddering breath, reaching up to clutch onto her fingers. Despite being grown, his hand was still smaller than hers, and she was hit how he was her _child_. It didn’t matter if he was considered as an adult in human years. She gave birth to this person and he was finally here with her again. “I missed you.”

”I missed you too, god.” He laughed again, breathlessly this time, and he didn’t stop when she nuzzled her nose against his. 

“There isn’t a day I don’t think about you,” she admitted, looking deeply into his eyes. “What I did was unfair to you. You were only a small baby when I left you with your father, and I couldn’t stop thinking about the way you only stared at me when I left that house.”

Keith swallowed thickly, tightening his hold onto her hand. “I couldn’t remember your face. I hated myself for that, and Dad, for not keeping pictures of you.”

”I told him not to, I didn’t want to endanger you both by letting the authorities know I was there. My presence would be taken the wrong way.” She leaned back to look at him properly, brushing his bangs away from his face. “You’ve grown so much.”

”It’s been awhile.”

”Yes. Enough for you to find someone to dedicate your life to.”

Finally, the beginnings of a blush she had been so curious about back then bloomed on his cheeks, tainting his skin with lovely pink as he looked away. “He’s all I have.”

She smiled, brushing a thumb onto the edge of his jaw. “We’re more alike than we realise, because he’s very handsome. And it helps that you’ve announced your love for him to everyone.”

He pulled back, now flushing red. “Was I really that obvious?”

”Lotor saw it.”

”That’s the worst thing I have ever heard.”

She chuckled, surging forward to press their foreheads together again. “Just know that you deserve all the happiness in the world, and the Black Paladin gives you that.” She planted a kiss onto his nose. “I want my son to go through the blissful life he fought hard for.”

”I want that for you too.” 

She interlaced their fingers together, holding tight. “I already am.”


End file.
